It's Harder Than You Think
by popcora
Summary: Beca's been through the ringer by the time she gets to Barden, but can she make it through a year of college, without getting close enough to hurt anyone?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey guys! I know it's been long and you probably don't want a new story and want me to actually finish my others, but I've actually been working on this story since August. But I think I finally got it to where I want it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Pitch Perfect.**

 **Beca's been through the ringer by the time she gets to Barden, but can she make it through a year of college, without getting close enough to hurt anyone?**

Beca sighed contently as she sat down, blowing a stream of cold air from her mouth while reaching for her water bottle, opening it and taking a big gulp. She tried to catch her breath, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, partially listening to Aubrey, but not really.

It was her sixth week into the semester, and everything was piling on quickly. Bella's had longer practices, classes were getting more homework, her family was getting needier everyday, but she still managed. She suppressed the small smile at the thought of getting home and maybe catching some sleep before starting her homework, wishing she could be there now.

"Beca! Are you listening to me?!" Beca looked up as she was pulled out of her thoughts, glaring at the blonde. "There's definitely nothing better I could be doing right now." Beca's voice was monotone, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't appreciate attitude, _Beca_. If you were actually listening to me, you would've known that we have a meeting everyday this week at eight am sharp, be there." Beca rolled her eyes again, picking up her bag as Aubrey excused them, bolting out the door as fast as she could.

She knew damn well that she wouldn't be able to make the rehearsals, she had at least two eight am classes that week alone. She couldn't help but think of what was waiting for her when she got home.

It gave her a warm feeling that she couldn't explain, like the way a hot chocolate warms your whole body with just one sip in the middle of the winter. It made her run faster, if anything, ready to cuddle when she got home. As she rounded the corner, her smile grew as she saw the car wasn't in the driveway, fishing her keys out of her pocket.

Unlocking the door, Beca shut it behind her, hanging her jacket and backpack up, pushing her keys back into her backpack pocket. "Charlie, I'm home!" Beca's voice was loud, not loud enough to scare her, but enough to let her presence be known. "Mommy!"

 **AN: I know it's short, but it's a start. I'm having a hard time deciding the ships for this story, so if you have a suggestion, let me know :). ~Cora**


	2. Chapter 2

**An: Okay, so I'm updating this now before I forget. There's a lot of fluff and character development in this chapter, though there's not much backstory to it. I think I have an idea of what ship I'm going to do, but it's not a for sure. Without further ado, on with the chapter...**

"Mommy!" Beca squatted as she heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet come her way, looking up in time to see the toddler turning the corner. Her smile grew as the girl wrapped her tiny arms and legs around the brunette's neck and torso. "I missed you, baby girl." She pressed kisses all over the 18 month old's face, before placing one last one on her nose, pushing her own face against the toddlers.

"What'd you do today monkey?" Beca asked, gently lifting her up as the girl gripped onto her shirt, smiling a toothy grin up at her mom. "Pway babies!" Charlie giggled, pointing towards the mess in the living room. "You stinker, you played babies without me?" Beca faked pouted, putting her head on the brunette's shoulder as she began to sniffle. "Oh! I pway you!"

Charlotte placed a hand on each of her cheeks, gently lifting her head up. "Promise?" Beca sniffled, smirking lightly as the girl nodded as fast as she could, squirming to get down. Beca let her down, smiling as she ran towards the end of the couch to go into the living room. "Hey, don't I get a hug and a kiss first?" Charlotte turned back around, wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Alright, go play, buttercup, I'll be there in a minute." Beca slightly pushed the toddler towards the living room, taking one last look at her, before making her way down the hallway.

Upon passing the toddler's room and entering her own, she grabbed a pair of sweats. Stripping of her rehearsal clothes, she tossed them into the hamper, throwing the comfy clothes on and grabbing her laptop. She sat down in the living on the floor, logging into the electronic. She pushed it to the side when her daughter put a doll in her arms, holding her hand out when the girl sat in her lap with her own doll.

"Mommy!" Charlotte looked up at the brunette, pushing her palm against the 18 year old's collarbone repeatedly. "Hmm?" Beca looked down at the blue-eyed infant, gently taking the child's palm off her body. "Me. You!" The toddler pointed at the doll situated against her chest, smiling brightly at the connection she made.

"Good job, baby girl. Is your baby tired?" Beca had slowly been weaning the girl off of breastfeeding, strictly doing it when she was falling asleep. She knew it was a comforting thing for her daughter, if not herself, though the child was teething, which made it that much more difficult to ease her off. "Mhmm." Charlie nodded, pushing her head onto the brunette's shoulder.

"Are you tired?" Beca ran her fingers through her daughters curls, running her thumb along her cheek. "Mhmm." She put a hand on the brunettes breast that she wasn't settled against, balling her fist in her shirt.

"Charlie," Beca sighed, hiking the child's body upside she was settled on her hip, using her other hand to push them off the floor, the dolls forgotten behind them, "let's go grab a cup, okay?" "No!" Beca cringed as the girl whined, rubbing her forehead with her opposite hand. "C'mon, babe, mommy doesn't wanna do that right now."

She walked them into the kitchen, standing on her toes to grab a sippy cup from the cupboard, going into the fridge to grab the bag of pumped milk from earlier in the week. She poured some into a cup, before putting it into the microwave. "Charlie, please stop squirming." Beca tried prying her off her body, though it didn't work as the girl hung onto her shirt. Pulling the cup out of the microwave, she screwed the cap on and made sure it wouldn't spill, offering it the the child in her arms.

"Oh! Charlie!" Beca's face contorted when the plastic hit the floor, scratching the side of it. She picked it up, setting it on the counter before running a hand through her hair. "Charlotte Rose, you either drink this and stay in here, or I put you in your crib and you stay in there." Beca's voice was stern as she held the cup up again, pushing it towards the girl. "No!" Charlotte pushed it out of her hand again, banging her fist against the brunette's chest.

"Let's go." Beca contemplated if it was too harsh on the girl, but she would eventually forget about it when she fell asleep, she decided. She didn't care whether her chest would be slightly bruised or not, she couldn't hurl empty threats, she knew it wouldn't work.

"I told you your options, and you decided to choose this one, I'm sorry." Beca frowned, her voice gentle as she opened the nursery door, not bothering to turn the light on. She tried to take the hold off of her, crying out when she got a hold on her hair and pulled. "Ow, Charlie." Beca mumbled, forcing the body off of her and into the crib.

Beca walked across the room towards the door, taking one last glance before shutting the door. She made her way towards the living room, sitting on the ground against the couch, pulling her laptop into her lap.

"Fuck!" Beca mumbled into her sleeve, sniffling as she heard her daughters cries increase, squeezing her eyes closed as she felt tears run down her own cheeks. "How the hell do people do this?!" She ran a shaky hand through her hair, blowing a long stream of air from her mouth, roughly swiping the material of her sweatshirt across her tear tracks.

 **An: so this was a really long chapter. In my opinion, Charlotte was kinda hard to write, because I don't have anyone that young in my life and I'm going off of pure memory since my cousins were little (the youngest is 4). She's not going to have any disorders, because most of the fics that I've seen, there's something wrong with the main characters child. So, there's nothing wrong, but she is only a toddler, so tantrums and what else are bound to happen. Let me know how you felt about this chapter, please. ~Cora**

 **Ship Counts:**

 **Jeca 1**

 **Bechloe 4**

 **Triple Treble 3**

 **Steca 1**

 **Hetwaszoietsals: Thanks!**

 **GeekGirl10120: All I will say for the first part is ;) And thank you, I was really self-conscious about how short it was.**

 **ShitBooksAndReading: ;)**


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